Fertilization Effects We often learn about things in science by serendipity. And when it comes to learning about bryophytes in ecosystems, we often learn by what we do to their neighboring tracheophytes. Hence, when we fertilize our gardens or add fertilizers to restore impoverished land, the bryophytes respond along with the intended tracheophytic plants. In general, fertilizers are detrimenta...

Despite being recognized as a widespread and evolutionary important phenomenon among vascular plants, interspecific hybridization among bryophytes has been strongly underestimated. In the present review, we summarize knowledge about bryophyte hybrids that are found in nature. Mechanisms of reproductive isolation in bryophytes are compared with those in vascular plants. The morphological and gen...

Interactions between vascular plants and bryophytes determine plant community composition in many ecosystems. Yet, little is known about the importance of interspecific differences between bryophytes with respect to their effects on vascular plants. We compared the extent to which species-specific bryophyte effects on vascular plant generative recruitment depend on the following underlying mech...

Morphometric analysis of organisms has undergone a dramatic renaissance in recent years, embracing a range of novel computational and imaging techniques to provide new approaches to phenotypic characterization. These innovations have often developed piece-meal, and may reflect the taxonomic specializations and biases of their creators. In this review, we aim to provide a brief introduction to a...

Figure 1. Nutrients may be tied up in bryophytes for decades, or recycle within months, in forests with abundant bryophytes, as in this forest with Isothecium myosuroides. Photo by Michael Lüth. Few quantitative studies have addressed the role of bryophytes in ecosystem nutrient cycling. Nevertheless, bryophytes may play a significant role in N retention and release in the ecosystem (Figure 1)....

Rudolphi, J. 2007. Bryophytes, lichens and dead wood in young managed boreal forests. Doctor’s dissertation. ISSN 1652-6880, ISBN 978-91-576-7387-9 The decrease in old-growth forests threatens the diversity of a range of organisms. Only a small portion of the forested area in Sweden is formally protected and the majority of unprotected forests are young (<70 years). The objective of this thesis...

A general lack of commercial value, small size, and inconspicuous place in the ecosystem have made the bryophytes appear to be of no use to most people. However, Stone Age people living in what is now Germany once collected the moss Neckera crispa (G. Grosse-Brauckmann 1979). Other scattered bits of evidence suggest a variety of uses by various cultures around the world (J. M. Glime and D. Saxe...

Bryophytes are known to produce a great range of biologically active compounds viz. terpenoids, aromatic compounds, and acetogenins. A lot of these constituents have typical odour, tanginess, and bitterness, and exhibit a fairly curious collection of bioactivities and medicinal properties. Chemical studies of the bryophytes were neglected for a long time in India. They are stockroom of naturall...

The New Zealand fern Blechnum fluviatile and liverwort, Hymenophyton flabellatum produce the characteristic pungent compounds, (-)-polygodial, a sesquiterpene dialdehyde, and 1-(2,4,6-trimethoxyphenyl)-but-2-en-1-one, respectively. The former compound has been isolated from the Japanese liverwort, Porella vernicosa complex and the latter one from the Japanese fern, Arachinoides standishii. The ...